Spray booth



J. H. McCUE SPRAY BOOTH I July 13, 1943.

3 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed July 10, 1945 INVENTORY fqm e 5.6. Jfifu e BY I July 13, 1948.

J. H. McgUE SPRAY BOOTH Filed Jul 10, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Jam 85 H C ug July 13, 1948.

Filed July 10, 1945 J. H. MOCUE SPRAY BOOTH 3 Sheets-Sheet -3 IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 13, 1948 1 1f: My invention'relates to improvements in spray:

booths or that-type which is adapted -to be employed for painting vehicles; the primaryobie'ct being-to spray ayehicle-with paint in a-closed chamber through which air is conducted to" quickly dry the -painted surfaces A'iurther ob-' ject" is to effectively remove substantially all 'of" the-parti=clesof dust from the air which'is cir'culatedthi'ough the boothso that the painted surfaces are free from blemishes. Another object is to provide illuminating means which is arranged sothat' the exposedsurfaces of a vehicle to be" painted'are "clearly and evenly visible and free from' objectionable shadows during the spraying operation; Another object is to providea prefabricated structure by Which-the boothican bezeasily' "and quickly assembledwhcreverand wheneveritis used. A further-object is the production of a convertible construction which isprovided with means which can be usedv whenever desired 'for'heatingthe atmosphere in' the booth so as-to'reducetimeyconsumed for drying-and hardening ;the freshlypainted surfaces' Among; still"fur tlier objects .is the production ofaspray,"

booth which can bequickly erected .or dismantledj'.

andjjwhich has maximum simplicity and inex pensive construction andis economical and highly effective to operate. 1

To these ends my invention comprises the ,fea-r tures,. of. construction ,and combination of "parts hereinaft'errset: forth and claimed. I

In. the accompanying "drawings, forming part ointhis: specification, Fig. 1 is (a front elevation.

ofimy. improved spray booth; Fig. 21s a rear elevationalyiew; Fig. 3 is a plan looking down upon. the-spray booth; the View being taken at a slightly reduced scale over that shown .in" Figs. 1 and 2';

Fig.j4:is a-side1 elevational View; Fig. 5 is a crosssectional ,view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig, 3"" andat'slightly increased scale; Fig; 6,is a typi-" caljseection taken on the 1ine\6-6 of Fig.3; Fig. '7 is a typical section. taken on the line,.1l of Fig. 4;;Fig'x8lisa typicalsection of-adetail taken-on" the line 8,-8 jofFig. 3, and at an increased scale;

and Fig. 9 is a typical sectioniof :a detail taken, on the line 9f-'-9 of one of the doors and at in-' creasedscale.

Mfgimproved spray booth is made in prefabricated sections. which'can be easily assembled'and its parts secured together-while at any-location; It can be 'made' out ofthin sheet metal panels such asjAor out ofany other" suitable material; the...'joints: between sections being angled at*"l[|"* to" increasestrength and rigidity olfstructure and I 1 itsedges' overlapped and secured together by bolts I 2:. I I" or other suitable fastening means: inwthewman' ner"illustrated-due Figl-z 6. :Therspray booth' -isu formedwith' two opposite substantially -flatzparalz-tl lel side walls'C and D and :Irontand back'z-walls E-and F; A'ceiling is :construct'ed@overheadrcomeposed-"of the rupper horizontal portion G fiwhichn extends longitudinally: from rfront to rear of the structure and is constructed-' with opposite rsidei Walls by the diagonal .fportions and 'Ifiw hichr:

slopes-downwardly =and outwardly "apart;

The spray, booth; is adapted f to- "be" erected-Eon any suitable floor structure that. shown consist-T ing :of concrete and being =:indicated by J in the drawings; The-lower' edges of- 'the -side Wells's-G -an-d D and'front "and back-walls E'and F are-'se cured bysangle bars I 3 toawhichi the lower edges- 1 of -the :sheet'materiarisvbolted at IZZKFigar'l), toreinforce thestrength zof the structure, said angle bars 'in turn being-secured to-"the floor by bolts" M which: are threaded r in v expansion sockets I 5- seatedin the floor: i

The sheetpanl work thus produced produ'ces' a strong and *rigid structure out of a "minimum-of this sheet material, the-diagonal ceiling panels H 'and I"reinfdrcing the strength both longitudi na-lly and lateral-ly; The-front wallE is provided-- wi-thadoor'closing means having :a -pair of doors lfi and l'ltvhich are-hinged at =I8-so*as to=swing-' horizontally outwardly -an'd 'open' orclose -adoor way 192 The-"entire structure "isadapted to hold a vehicle (not shown); which it is desiredto paintspraying, the-latter being moved into or out of the--=booth through said doorway. Each of the doors is' -constructed with air filter panels 20* through :whi'ch airfrom outside" is freeto"- enter the "chamber'within the booth butin'transit isfilteried to prevent blemishesfrom 'dust upon the'ireshly' painted coat-which issprayed upon the vehicle-i A forced draitofai-r 'is-created *throug-Wth filterpanels and the chamber wit-hin the boothb'y; the exhaust fan or blower 2I'- 'whi ch-' is contained in the exhaust" chamberfl; the latte'w being located at the inner end of the booth-mean the-ceilings The exhaust fan or blower is shown driven by the-motor 23"and-the exhaust chamber" is provided-"with the exhaust outl'et 24 totheouter atmosphere, and wi-th the inlet=d1ict 2 S ft-emu the chamber-Within-the booth Anequalizingbafile 26 -de'pendingir'om the cei'ling'at the innerend-of -the *booth, envelops the exhaust chamber and has an open -lower end for evenly circulating-= airand removing paintfumes from a wide -area' within 'the booth; said open 1oWerends-being: closed *or regulated" by the hand operableshutter ii'i' a Y the sheeting 29 which together with one of they leaves of the hinges such as l8 are spot welded or riveted to the angle member 28. The opposite hinge leaf is spot welded or riveted to the angle member 21. The sheet casing is formed with the opening 30 and stop shoulder 3|, in which the block of filter material constituting one of the filter panels is seated. The filter panel may be effectively constructed out of spun glass and is renewable from'time to time if and when it becomes clogged with material which is filtered from the air. In this manner clean air is circulated through the booth to effectively prevent paint blemishes and to dry the paint coated surfaces.

drying of the-painted surfaces by the diagonal or sloping portions H and I of the'ceiling. Y

It is desirable to evenly illuminate the exposed surfaces of avehicle which is sprayed in the booth so that the operator may apply an even 7 tion of the side walls C and D, all as shown in.

the drawings. In this-manner the light rays cast by the lighting elements are directed ver-v tically and diagonally down and horizontally inwardly upon the vehicle body so as to evenly illuminate all of its surfaces to be painted. Each of the fluorescent lights has suitable longitudinally disposed illuminatin elements or tubes 32 (Figs. 5 and 8), which are held in illuminating position in a suitable reflector 33 behind an oblong wire glass face plate 34 within a suitable housing. The face plate hasits marginal edges protected by a continuousbuifer gasket 35. The reflector and face plate are also retained in a suitable marginal rectangular frame 36, which is incorporated into the-sheet structure of the booth body by the marginal clamp member 31.

The latter is shown detachably secured in re-- taining position by screws such as 38,. as shown in Fig. 8. Y

Any desired ordinary type of hand directed portable spraying means (not shown) may beemployed in the booth to spray a coat of paint upon the surfaces of a vehicle. In use when a ve-. hicle to be sprayed with paint has been moved into the booth, the doors I6 and I! are closed and fastened by the door catch 39, the. lightsare turned on and the air exhaust fan or blower 2| is operated. During this operation and the spraying of the vehicle with paint, the operator. has free access to and from'the booth through an escape doorway 40. Also the operator is pro- Thecirculation of the air is concentrated around the vehicle in the booth to apply even vided with fresh air to prevent ill effects from, exposure to paint fumes, the air which is circulated through the booth being thoroughly filtered so as to also prevent any dust collecting upon the freshly painted surfaces and causing any blemishes. During this operation the air is circulated at the proper velocity so as to remove paint fumes and so that the operator may secure asmooth and even coat of paint on the surfaces of the vehicle and prevent what is termed over spraying. The continuedoperation of the air exhaust quickly dries the painted surfaces.

When desired my improved spray booth may be provided with a source of heat to hasten the drying operation and harden the painted surfacesbut this is entirely optional. In such event a curtain L is lowered in front of the filter panels in thedoors I 6 and Il, when the latter are closed, to prevent outside air being drawn into the chamber within the booth and a source of heated air from an air chamber M containing a heater and a blower 42 is connected with the chamber in the booth to propel a continuous closed circuit of heated air through the booth. Air from the heating chamber M at the inner end of the booth is driventhrough duct 43 to the forward end of the upper portion of the booth where it is admitted by thetransverse In accordance withthe patent statutes, I have described the principles of operation .of my invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those set forth within the spirit of the. invention and the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A spray booth for a vehicle to be sprayed with paint, having side an djend walls and a substantially horizontal ceiling forming a closed chamber, said ceiling being joined laterally to said side Walls by downwardly and outwardly slopinglateral side portions to reduce 'the volume of air contained within said enclosure and reinforce structural strength, door closure means in the forward end wall for admittin a vehicle to be sprayed in said structure, filter means in said door closure means for filtering air which is admitted into said. structure, and. air exhaust means nearthe inner end portion of said structure for creating an evenly distributed draft of air longitudinally through said structure to evenly dry the paint which is sprayed upon the vehicle therein, and a closely assembled longitudinal series of lights integralwith each of said sloping portions by which the surface of a vehicle in the spray booth-is evenly illuminated.

2. A spray booth structure for enclosing a vehicle to be sprayed with liquid, having prefabricated thin side,.end and, ceiling walls, said ceil ing wall being joined laterally to said side walls by downwardly and outwardly sloping portions 1 distributer 44. The return of air from thelower to form a longitudinal structure from end to end thereof, door closure means in the forward end wall for admitting a vehicle to be sprayed into said structure, air filter means in said door closure means for freely filtering air admitted into said structure, air exhaust means near the inner end of said structure for creating a draft of evaporating medium through said structure to evenly distribute and dry liquid which is sprayed upon the vehicle therein, and a longitudinal series of closely assembled elongated lights integral with said ceiling, side and sloping portions, said lights being directed by said walls downwardly and inwardly to substantially evenly illuminate the top, sides and ends of the vehicle in said structure.

3. A spray booth structure for enclosing a vehicle to be sprayed with paint, having opposite side walls, opposite end walls, a ceiling and opposite beveled walls connecting said ceiling and side walls, said parts forming a closed spray chamber, door closure means in the forward end wall of said structure for admitting a vehicle to be sprayed into said chamber, air filter panels in said door closure means to admit filtered air into said chamber, a plurality of series of longitudinally disposed elongated lights respectively built into each of said ceiling, side and beveled walls, said lights being directed downwardly and inwardly into said chamber so as to evenly illuminate exposed surfaces of the vehicle therein to be sprayed, means near the upper inner end of said structure for exhausting air from within said structure, and an equalizing baflle extending downwardly from the air exhaust means to exhaust air and paint fumes from the remote inner end portion of the chamber within said structure.

JAMES H. McCUE'.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,183,397 Newcomb May 16, 1916 1,203,235 Morriss Oct. 31, 1916 1,211,325 Lilly Jan. 2, 1917 1,327,314 Cunliffe Jan. 6, 1920 1,611,756 Leigh Dec. 21, 1926 1,697,079 Onsrud Jan. 1, 1929 1,828,609 Mahon Oct. 20, 1931 1,887,581 Cowan Nov. 15, 1932 2,026,080 Ziska Dec. 31, 1935 2,097,953 Ludwig Nov. 2, 1937 2,227,481 Bates Jan. 7, 1941 2,257,516 Roche et a1 Sept. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 206,257 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1939 

